back-road charms, a photo from Utah, West

Photographer's Note

Remember, I recommended running whenever one saw a panicking Navajo tour guide in Antelope Canyon?

Well, here's another occasion when you should RUN and you better take my word for it. It's whenever @ 6 AM (or so) in the morning, at a canyon-side breakfast table, you meet rolex, fine lipstick brandishing retirement-home crowd (and I mean CROWD...) starring with contempt at your dusty hiking boots and the three day 'shadow' on your cheeks...

If you meet THEM, runnn, runnn (Forest!) for the backroads, as fast and as far away as you can from the Zions, Bryces and Grand Canyons!

Backroads... Dusty, dirty, unpopular backroads... backroads with bullet shells competing with pebbles for space on the roadsides, backoads offering encounters with cows, lone rancheros, coyotes and even mudslides that bring your escape plans to a cold, abrupt and muddy stop...

Ahhh... what a relief... The true West, for me!

-
This particular backroad leads (on good days that is) from the Kodachrome Basin State Park to route 89 in Southern Utah. As we discovered, the road would become impassable very close to route 89 even for SUV's whenever there would be rain.

The shot was taken mid-day, so I apologize for the rude light.

fulvio52, Floydian, dareco, Wandering_Dan, hispic, crhieatt, jlbrthnn, npecanhuk, belido, bostankorkulugu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

leo61 (0) 2009-06-03 21:30

Hi Kristaps!

Great shot of these nice geological formations.I like the bright colors and contrast and the composition with the dirtroad at the left side.
Regards,leo

PixelTerror (0) 2009-06-03 23:01

Hi Kristaps,
Big LOL at the story, I can imagine how these tours are set up the american way ! Good you ran away and found this quieter corner, even though the road tells it's not as remote as it seems. Nice formations and superb light on them, under this cloudy sky they seem to shine even more. I miss Clint Eastwood on that image ;-)
Have a nice day JY

emka (152072) 2009-06-03 23:29

Hi Kristaps,

Splendid colours of Utah. When I see such an image I begin missing this red color of Utah. Back roads are always interesting. Splendid photo.
Funny story. But I would rather first see the main sights (with this crowd) and if I have time something less popular (I had no time for it). In September it was not so bad.
regards

Malgorzata

MarcT (20964) 2009-06-03 23:36

Hi Kristaps,
Wonderful place, superb colors and lots of depth in the picture.
Well done
Marc

delkoo (68) 2009-06-03 23:51

hi kristaps,
What a stunning photo! Marvellous colors , catched in full glory,

best regards
didier

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-06-04 0:12

Hi, Kristaps.
Never apologize for the rude light, this is The West at its very best, the light is part of the package, actually a big chunk of it. Shooting at mid-day Utah and coming home with this kind of results means you play it in the Big League. Which is only for the chosen few, so... my compliments! Yeah, I know this spot. I've been here and plan to be back in 2010... Have a great day, talk to you later.
Fulvio.

pauloog (11751) 2009-06-04 0:33

Hello Kristaps,
The hard light well mananged in this Western view with its amazing range of colours and forms. And the backroad at left holds the promise of more discoveries... Well composed.
Regards,
Paul

jonathan_hart (21276) 2009-06-04 3:50

good POV, i like detail of the path on the left
jc

Floydian (30970) 2009-06-04 6:04

Hi Kristaps,

Getting far from the main road and this is what we get...GREAT..!!! Crystal clear with deep colours in this amazing landscape. That road that goes all the up at the left...a great touch and all the fresh green...looks good in May...and it seems here the weather was not that bad. But from what you already told us, it was not how it should be in May. Nevertheless you got a good one here, from an area not many people come...perfect.

Regards,

Henk

dareco (17136) 2009-06-04 8:48

Very nice sharp detail and awesome lighting and colors. An incredible place!!! TFS

avene (12675) 2009-06-04 14:26

this place looks like made of copper, glowing even in the harsh sun. the creator (who- or whatever that might be) must've been high on something good to come up with shapes like that. or, alternatively, this is all organic and one day these creatures will take over the West and go gambling in Vegas.
love the colours, no surprise there, and how the super-sharp details of the rock formations contrast with the sky. nice :)

hugs,
K.

Wandering_Dan (3449) 2009-06-04 15:17

Hi, Kristaps -

Why run? You should have shot them - that's what cameras are for! Immortalize their lipstick for all eternity. You certainly look a lot more authentic than they do. (Although: multiple chins? I dunno....)

Moving on.... This is a really fine example of the kind of formations (non-living ones) that I've seen a lot of in that region. The mix of red and white rock and the shapes they've been whittled into are classic, as is that sky. And there are enough shadows to forgive the light for being rude.

Best,
Dan

gneufeld (15890) 2009-06-04 18:44

Hi Kristaps,
Ah, gorgeous colors, contrasts, and stunning details and sharpness in this one. Absolutely amazing rugged beauty, and I like your note too. TFS. Gerald

hispic (9658) 2009-06-04 20:21

Hi Kristaps,
Superb rendition with stunning punch, this three-dimensional impression is truly splendid, the left road also brings a big effect of leading the eye to the entire image.
Regards, Hisashi

Greg1949 (9011) 2009-06-05 9:35

Kristaps, I love the note, that alone makes this one worth marking as a favorite. If you has duch a note on all your shots you would certainly have a best seller coffee table photo book!!

Obviously the shot is great as well but the note makes my eyes water reading it, great work on both accounts.

Greg

baba_flies (8829) 2009-06-05 10:34

Hello Kristaps! YES, the backroads, this is the way to go. I am not right there yet but I guess I will eventuelly come to a point when I only do backroads, unknown villages, exploring the neighbourhood of my friends, leaving out city centers but rather go to the local grocery store instead ... but I am still a little away and believe what everybody tries to tell me but not too far. LOL. Okay, I have also experienced this 'common feeling' with other tourists that was quite nice and you stood there doing the 'oh and ahs' together. What a beautiful picture, what wonderful clouds, we can feel your relief, breathing through, feeling the true West ... I can feel it too, all so nice. Greetings from Colorado, Barbara.

crhieatt (5347) 2009-06-05 11:57

....and, somehow, I feel your gallery of pictures has been eluding my attention. It's obvious to me now that this has been a bad oversight but, on TE, it happens easily!

I love this one; the contorted jumble of rocks is pretty fantastic by itself - but the inclusion of the track on the left of frame, arcing away into the distance really makes this one stand out.

Cheers
Colin

jlbrthnn (76041) 2009-06-07 5:27

Hello Kristaps,
These forms and these colors are extravagant and superb. I appreciate the light and the dark sky which emphasize this landscape. congratulations. Beautiful image, very good realization.
Have a good Sunday
Cordially
Joël

npecanhuk (79329) 2009-06-07 5:32

Hello Kristaps!
Very attractive, charming and truly beautiful picture!
Sharpness is excellent, exposure is perfect, colors are natural and wonderful (yes, the place has so many colors and they were so effectively captured), the pov was very well chosen and the composition is gorgeous with the unpaved road in the very left side no less interesting than everything else on the right side!
I really like it!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

belido (19934) 2009-06-09 9:38

Hi Kristaps,

I think you did the best with the harsh light here. It doesn't hurt my eyes at all, actually it looks very natural. A great scenery, a beautiful theme...why wait for the sun to set? :) Well done!
Regards,
Carlos

sunamoon (10) 2009-06-11 15:57

Hi,

Primero, tienes una galeria más que excelente!!!
me encantan todas tus fotos,
esta sobre todo me encanto, muy buenos colores y calidad optima!
la luz sobre todo es super buena,
buen trabajo!

Un saludo,
Elena

bostankorkulugu (42832) 2009-07-02 21:02

hey i ve missed all your latest shots... this one is so cool with the tilt... a great piece of landscape, a very good shot man...

ryno (6863) 2009-07-05 6:26

Dramatic, tortuous mountain ridges set against an equally dramatic cloud backdrop. Another fine composition, capturing Utah's natural beauty. One half expects a stagecoach to come hurtling around the corner any moment now!
Regards,
Ryno

chinkakarolinka (26) 2009-07-23 0:20

Overwhelming....owesome picture.
I call it natural beauty:-)

Photo Information

Copyright: Kristaps KL (zmey) (7335)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-28
Categories: Nature
Camera: Nikon D300, 18-200 f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom, RAW, Nikon CircPolar II 72mm
Exposure: f/8, 1/1000 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-06-03 21:14
Favorites: 1 [view]